Asali lounged by the water, her eyes drooping as the breeze off the lake came over her. She had been wandering for some time, ever on the search for the next beautiful thing to add to her collection. It was an irony she did not know at the time, that she had entered a land where beauty was an item to be collected, and that she herself would be quite the commodity. She was blissful in her ignorance, the ground beneath her head littered with the various things she had gathered that day. There was a shell from some crustacean that sparkled when it was hit just right, and numerous leaves and flowers. The call of a bird overhead brought her to her senses and she yawned leisurely. This was a good place to be.
Amara was tired as tired could be. It had been an active morning; both of Kwea's banu had given birth, and now there were eight cubs. Add to that her own four older children, and the den was now bustling with life and noise. Since she was the only capable lioness to hunt now since Thuraya and Kifa were new mothers, that is what she found herself doing this late afternoon.
It was also how she happened across another lovely brown lioness drowsily languishing next to the lake that was near the pridal lands. A wayward banu, perhaps? Not wanting to be overly intrusive, Amara cleared her throat inquisitively, hoping to catch the others attention.
Asali laid her ears back, stiffening at the sound. Oh dear, had she stumbled upon another's home again? In her travels she had found that few were ever receptive to such intrusion. After steeling herself to explain her actions, she looked toward the sound. What she found was not at all what she had expected. Her eyes locked on the lioness, noting to herself that she was alone. With a paw she drew her stash closer to her chest, and she raised her head in what might be construed as defiance. "Have I offended you?" she asked with little tone in her voice, for she wasn't yet sure of the situation, "I was not poaching, simply gathering some wonderful things. There are such beautiful things along these waters." Compliments tended to help, she had found. "My name is Asali" She paused, taking in the lioness's coat and stance, "Would you like a pretty thing?"
Amara's pink eyes widened in surprise. No, with that attitude she couldn't possibly be anyone's banu. "You have not offended me in the least, stranger." Amara was far enough from the borders of the lands that it couldn't really be deemed pridal lands, per se, but they were close enough to the pridal lands that things could get a little hazy. "I was merely out hunting, and--" She stopped talking when the other offered her a 'pretty thing' and Amara inquisitively stepped a bit closer.
"What have you found?" she said before remembering her manners. "I am Amara, by the way. Beybanu to Kwea." She wasn't sure if the title would make much sense to the lioness, but it was a sure way to test if she was from the pride or not.
The rank did not seem to register with Asali, who stretched her front paws forward and bowed her back out before sitting upright. "Well Amara, I have found this shell," she said, pushing it forward with her paw, "It is a very special shell I think, look at how it reflects blue off the inside." She was always happiest when talking about her things, as shallow as it might seem. There was little else she had held to her heart in the world, having no family of her own. The earlier comment seemed to play over in her mind and she asked absently, without looking up, "What is a Beybanu? Is it some relation?" She had heard many terms in her travels, but this was a new one. "You may have this shell, there are sure to be more."
Almost as if in a trance, Amara moved closer, distracted from her duties to bring home a kill to Kwea and the other banu. "It is a lovely shell indeed," she spoke softly, eyeballing the thing. She did so like it, but she imagined that it might make Thuraya smile, as well. That's what the blue gleam reminded her of. "A Beybanu?" Amara looked towards Asali, eyebrows raised. "I am my Pad's highest ranking female, the one he cherishes above all others." She was obviously quite proud of the fact, and grinned a large grin. "Thank you for the shell.. what is it you are doing in these lands, hmm?"
"I go wherever I feel I might find something pretty," Asali explained rather bluntly, as if it were the natural way for a lioness to live, "A little bird told me that beauty was important here." She paused again, rolling the shell toward Amara, "So there are more of you then?" This area was populated then, at least much more than those she had passed through to come this far. One of the flowers in her pile began to blow away and she did not move to stop it, instead looking transfixed as it danced across the breeze and settled far off in the dust. She did not realize that her behavior might seem odd, that others may not live with beauty as their motivation to survive, it was simply how she had come to find herself. She wasn't quite sure even she understood it.
A part of Amara envied the lionesses freeness, the ability she had to do whatever struck her fancy. There would be no more days like that for Amara. "I used to collect pretty things," she said wistfully. "Stones and such." She was lost in her own thoughts for only a moment before continuing. "There are many, many of us here. This lake is near the Ukuuche'Wafalme pride. Many strong Pad and lovely Banu and Beybanu reside within the boundaries of the pride." She didn't want to frighten the other away; to do so, to bring her to the pride, would be much like crushing a pretty little bird just because you had the power to do so. "Do you enjoy your life as it is now?" A strange question, yes, but an important one to Amara.
Asali seemed to have trouble comprehending the question. "Do I?" she posed to the air, though for a moment it seemed as if she were speaking to herself, "I'm not quite sure." It was an oddly final answer, but one that seemed to have little emotion behind it. She enjoyed her things, and there was always more travel to find more things. Surely she had seen families and cubs before, but she had always been distanced from that. With that thought in her mind, she flipped an ear back again, "Are there cubs there?" She had always found things in common with cubs, they understood her somewhat whimsical attitudes and they did not critique her lifestyle. It was not as if she wanted to be alone, she simply had not found someone like herself. "And whole families too?"
Amara moved into a sitting position, finding Asali's company enjoyable. "There are cubs, many many cubs. We have just welcomed eight new ones to our den just this morning." A small smile threatened her muzzle, "And entire families, yes. We stay very busy as lionesses in the pride. There are always meals to catch, cubs to feed and Pads to entertain." She gave Asali another, closer look. "I do not have time to collect beautiful objects, but I am the mother of four beautiful cubs." It seemed a good trade at times, yes, but other times Amara wished for the simplicity of days long past.
"Yours born this morning?" Asali asked with a skeptical cringe, misunderstanding the family dynamic, "Your kind recover quite quick!" She laughed, drawing her slowly drifting stash again into a neat pile, "I have no cubs." It should be obvious to most, but that did not occur to her. She could have very well left them behind as her mother had her. "Are there many more women?" she asked, realizing that even in her mistake, four did not equal eight.
Amara grinned, shaking her head. "No, mine are older. Banu Thuraya gave birth to five cubs this morning, and Banu Kifa gave birth to three others." She couldn't stop the chuckle the bubbled up, though she did nod at Asali's question. "Yes, many more females than males. Each male obtains a harem of his own, and may capture as many females as he likes so long as he does not capture more than the sultan himself."
Capture. Asali did not like this word, she had heard it many times in her travels in reference to slaves. She became visibly uncomfortable, shying in to herself. "So you are captured?" she asked quietly, the question seeming to stretch itself in her throat, "Do you wish to escape?" It occurred to her suddenly that if she had wanted to escape, she easily could have being allowed this far alone. Though perhaps a pad, as she remembered they were called, was watching. She glanced uneasily at the brush line, expecting an ambush at any moment. "Am I safe here?" she whispered, garnering her stash to her chest, "Will they take my things?"
Confused, Amara narrowed her eyes only the slightest before realizing what she'd said and how it must seem to Asali. "I was not captured, no. I was heavy with cubs and on my own when my Pad Kwea found me. He took me in, under his protection, and cared for me and my cubs as if they were his own. I have no desire to escape; I love my Kwea, harsh as he may seem at times." Trying to ease Asali's fear, she continued, "I do not think they will take your things, friend. And we are far enough away from the pridal lands that I expect you are plenty safe from capture."
With the reassurance, Asali nodded, loosening her grip on her stash. A leaf floated absently away, but she did not notice. "Very well then," she sighed, contemplating Amara's story, "So you were saved then, that is much different." She supposed she might like to be rescued too, given those conditions. For whatever reason, she had never found herself with cubs though many others her age had. It was something her mother had never really taught her about. "This Kwea, is a good pad then?" she asked softly, trying not to pry too much. It was always uncertain how a reaction might change if one felt she was trying to get too close.
A dreamy look encroached on Amara's features, enhancing the reassuring smile into something much more soft and private. "He is a wonderful Pad. He.. does not tolerate disobedience or desertion, but none of his Banu would ever contemplate such a thing." She paused before continuing, "He loves his family with heartfelt devotion, and wants nothing more than a large, happy family. I am grateful for his protection and dedication to my own well-being." Being Kwea's Beybanu had been a dream come true for the brown lioness, and she finally felt as if she belonged somewhere. "I.. I could not be happier elsewhere." Deciding to ask a question, Amara arranged it in her mind before speaking. "What of you? Where is your family?"
"My family?" Asali asked, pouting a bit. She looked down at her stash, fumbling a stone with her paw, "I haven't got any." It was shameful, she hadn't lived up to her mother's hopes of a strong daughter, so she'd been left behind one morning in her youth. "I've got this wonderful crystal though!" Her face lit up and she pushed the bulk of her stash aside, revealing a light pink crystal covered in dust, "I found it a long time ago, it's lucky I think." Things seemed to slip her mind easily, as if walls had been constructed that the information must pass around. While she stared at the crystal she began to process Kwea. He seemed nice enough, if Amara liked him so much. "I should like to find someone like that," she said, pausing, "Well, once I'm done with this."
Amara nodded, admiring the lovely pink crystal, then jerked as if she'd suddenly realized something. "Oh, dear. I have been sitting here chattering away while I should've been hunting!" She fretted, rising to her feet with a worried glance behind her. "Since Thuraya and Kifa are new mothers, hunting rests on my shoulders, and Kwea might be upset that its taken me so long to bring home food for everyone." Torn, she spared a look at Asali and her pretty objects, feeling rude for excusing herself so suddenly. "I must be off, please forgive me for my haste."
"Oh," Asali said sadly, as if she felt the time had flown past too quickly, "Yes, you should do that." She was relieved that she had met someone like Amara, but was now suddenly afraid of being alone again. Oh well, she would just have to find someting nice to comfort her. Surely there would be some feathers around, she hadn't had a feather in a while. "I wish you the best in your hunting, perhaps I will see you again."
Amara nodded, hoping that they would meet again. She truly did enjoy Asali's company; so refreshing, and one who shared the same love of pretty things that she did.. rather, that she used to. "I hope that we meet again, Asali. It is always nice to meet new friends, and please take care of yourself." The last was shouted over her shoulder as she ran away in the direction of a favorite resting place for antelope.
